Shoe-stretcher.



F. JOHNSON.

SHOE STRETCHER. APPLICATION men mu. 5, 1915,

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

ATTO R N EY OOLUMBXA PLANOGRAPH (IO-,WASHINOTON, D. c.

: arse Ann VFFME,

FRED JOHNSON, OE KEWANEE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 EMIL ANDERSON,

0F KEWANEE, ILLINOIS.

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Application filed January 5, 1915. Serial No. 639.

. To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRED JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kewanee, in the county of Henry andState of- Illinois, have invented a new and useful Shoe-Stretcher, of which the following is a specification. I

The invention relates to improvements in shoe stretchers.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of shoe stretchers and to provide a simple, practical, and inexpensive device of strong and durable construction, adapted to be operated with one hand while a shoe is heldin the other hand, and enabling a shoe to be easily stretched from half a size to a size larger without tearing or breaking the lining or otherwise injuring the shoe.

WVith these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims appended hereto, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing :Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe stretcher constructed in accordance with this invention, the stretching arms being closed. Fig. 2 is a similar view from the opposite side of the device, the stretching arms being open.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in both the figures of the drawing.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, the shoe stretcher, which may be constructed of any suitable material, 'comprises in its construction a standard 1 consisting of a substantially oblong lower supporting portion 2 and a fixed upwardly extending stretching arm 3. The lower supporting portion 2, which is preferably provided with an opening 4, to lighten the construction, has laterally extending horizontally disposed attaching flanges 5 at its lower edge, to enable it to be readily secured upon a counter or other supporting surface by screws or other suitable fastening devices. The fixed stretching arm 8 is arranged at a slight inclination and extends upwardly and rearwardly from the center of the top of the lower supporting portion to the standard, and the latter is provided at the, front with a pair of spaced integral lugs 6, ex tending upwardly and forwardly from opposite sides of the lower end of the stretching arm and having mounted between it an operating lever 7. The operating lever 7 is fulcrumed at an intermediate point by a transverse pin or pivot 8, which pierces the lugs 6 and the lover. The operating lever 7 consists of a forwardly extending substantially straight operating arm or handle 9, and an upwardly extending movable stretching arm 10, arranged approximately at right angles to the operating arm 9, but the angle may, of course, be varied. When the lever is oscillated the stretching arm 10 is carried to and from the relatively fixed stretching arm 3.

The stretching arms 3 and 10 are preferably rounded as shown and their upper ends 11 and 12 are bifurcated for the reception of rollers 13 and 14, which are mounted in the bifurcations of the stretching arms on transverse pins or pivots 15 and 16.

In the operation of the shoe stretcher, the shoe to be stretched is held in the left hand and is placed over the stretching arms, which are introduced into the shoe when in their closed position shown in Fig. 1. The device is operated with the right hand in the manner indicated in Fig. 2 by downward pressure on the handle 9, and the desired pressure may be exerted on the lever 7 to stretch ashoe from approximately half a size to a size, without injuring the same. The rollers, which project beyond the bifurcated ends of the stretching arms, are rounded transversely to form substantially vertical heads for the ends of the arms, which, by being rounded and equipped with rollers, are adapted to stretch a shoe without tearing or breaking the lining thereof. When the arm 10 is moved away from the arm 3 by the lever 7, a V-shaped figure is provided by the arms. When the arms are in their normal position, or prior to a stretching operation, the arm 10 Willrest or lie adjacent to the arm 3 so that the two arms extend at practically the same angle from the stand: ard 1.

What is claimed is 1. A shoe stretcher comprising a standard,

means for mounting the standard in-a fixed position, said standard merging at the top into a rigid stretching arm which is ar-. ranged in an upwardly mclmed posltlon, a

'Within the shoe and having substantially the same'length, said movable arm being actuated to move away from the rigid arm during the stretching operation, and rollers providedon the extremities of said arms and Copies of this patent may be obtained for five'centseaoh, by addressing' the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C.

projecting from the same so as to contact with the shoe. 7 a .7 V

2. A shoe stretcher comprising a standard, means for mounting the standard in a fixed position, a rigid stretching arm rising from the top of the standard, alever, means for pivoting the lever to the standard, said lever comprising a handle at one end of the lever, and a movable stretching arm at the other end, said movable arm resting against the rigid arm in the normal position While being inserted Within the shoe, the outer ends of the tWo arms being bifurcated, and rollers journaled in the bifurcated ends and projecting beyond the same, so that the rollers and not the ends of the arms will contact with the shoe during the stretching operation.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

FRED JOHNSON.

WVitnesses;

O. D. PETERSON, C. C. ROWLEY. 

